National Basketball Association

Report: Close call for Celtics coach

Published Apr. 16, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Celtics coach Doc Rivers was en route to the Boston Marathon finish line when the bombs exploded Monday, The Boston Globe reported.

"I always go down after practice and watch — I’ve done it every year that we’ve been in town, because I live literally two blocks from the finish line," Rivers told the Globe on Tuesday. "I was on my way, actually — I had just gotten out of the tunnel — when the bomb exploded.

"It’s just awful. It takes the joy out of sports — because that’s what sports is supposed to bring is joy.

What usually takes only a few minutes to get to his home wound up taking more than an hour because of traffic restrictions after the blasts.

Rivers said he believes the bombings won’t ruin one of Boston’s signature events going forward.

"Next year, the marathon will be bigger and better," he told the newspaper, "and you’re not going to stop us, and I thought, of all the messages, the police commissioner said that and I think that’s a fact.

" . . . The city, it was awesome, watching people help people. I’m driving and I can see people helping people walk, helping go to the right places. This city has an amazing amount of spirit."